How to Throw Darts – A Complete Technique Guide

Let’s get one thing straight before we go any further: there is no correct way to throw a dart. If you watch the professionals on the PDC tour, you’ll see wildly different techniques. Michael van Gerwen’s rapid-fire machine-gun delivery looks nothing like Gary Anderson’s smooth, languid action. Gerwyn Price throws with raw intensity, while Fallon Sherrock’s technique is textbook calm. They all hit 180s.

What matters isn’t copying someone else’s throw—it’s finding your own technique that you can repeat consistently, visit after visit, leg after leg. That said, there are certain fundamentals that will help you develop a reliable, accurate throw. This guide covers the building blocks that most successful players share, while leaving you room to make the throw your own.

Stance and Balance

Your stance is the foundation of your throw. Everything starts from the ground up, and if your base isn’t stable, nothing that follows will be consistent.

Most players adopt one of three stances:

Front-facing stance – Your dominant foot points directly at the board, with your body facing the dartboard. This is the most common stance among professionals and gives you a clear line of sight to your target.

Side-on stance – Your body turns sideways to the board, similar to a snooker player lining up a shot. Less common, but some players find it helps their alignment.

Angled stance – A compromise between the two, with your dominant foot at roughly 45 degrees to the oche. This is what most club players settle into naturally.

Whichever you choose, the key principles are the same. Keep your weight predominantly on your front foot—around 60-70% is a good starting point. Your back foot should stay on the floor to provide balance, not drifting up behind you during the throw. Some top players do lift their back foot, but for most people it introduces unnecessary movement.

Your body should stay as still as possible throughout the throw. The only thing that should be moving is your throwing arm. If your head is bobbing, your shoulders are dipping, or your torso is swaying, you’re adding variables that make consistency harder. Plant yourself and stay planted.

Lean forward slightly from the waist to get your eyes closer to the board, but don’t overdo it. Leaning too far forward shifts your centre of gravity and can cause you to lose balance on the release, which throws off accuracy. You should feel comfortable and stable—never like you’re about to topple over.

Finding Your Grip

The grip is the most personal part of your throw. There’s no universal grip that works for everyone, and it’s influenced by the shape, length, and texture of your barrel as much as the size and shape of your fingers.

The basics are straightforward. Hold the dart with at least two fingers and your thumb. Most players use three or four fingers on the barrel. Your thumb typically sits underneath as an anchor, with your index finger and middle finger on top or to the side providing control.

Here’s what to focus on:

Hold the dart firmly enough that it won’t slip, but loosely enough that it can release cleanly. This is the most important thing to get right with your grip. If you’re white-knuckling the dart, you’ll struggle to let it go smoothly. If you’re holding it too loosely, it’ll wobble in your hand. Think about holding an egg—enough pressure to keep it secure, not enough to crack it.

Keep your fingers relaxed. Tension in your grip travels up through your wrist and forearm, stiffening the entire throwing action. Your fingers should feel natural and comfortable, not forced into an awkward position.

Find a consistent grip point on the barrel. Whether you grip the front, middle, or back of the barrel, do it the same way every time. Some players use a ring of grip or a particular knurling pattern as a tactile reference point to ensure their fingers land in the same spot each throw.

Unused fingers should stay out of the way. If you grip with three fingers, your remaining fingers should be spread open or tucked away—not pressed against the barrel. Stray fingers dragging across the dart during release is one of the most common causes of inconsistent grouping.

It’s worth experimenting with different grips during practice sessions. Move your fingers forward and back on the barrel, try using three fingers versus four, adjust the pressure. Small changes can have a noticeable effect on how the dart flies. Once you find something that feels right and produces consistent results, stick with it.

Aiming

Ask ten darts players how they aim and you’ll get ten different answers. Some aim with the tip of the dart, lining it up with their target. Others focus on the target and let muscle memory handle the alignment. A few don’t consciously aim at all—they just look at where they want the dart to go and throw.

The most common approach is to bring the dart up to eye level and use it as a sight line. With your dominant eye, line the tip of the dart up with your target on the board. Your elbow should be pointing roughly at the board, with your forearm vertical or close to it.

One thing most coaches agree on: use your dominant eye. If you’re not sure which eye is dominant, here’s a quick test. Hold your hands out in front of you and create a small triangle between your thumbs and forefingers. Look at a small object through the triangle with both eyes open. Now close each eye in turn. The eye that keeps the object centred in the triangle is your dominant eye.

If your dominant eye is the same side as your throwing arm, you’re in the majority and things line up naturally. If they’re on opposite sides (cross-dominance), you may need to adjust your head position slightly to get a clean sight line. It’s not a disadvantage—plenty of top players are cross-dominant—but it’s worth being aware of.

The Throwing Motion

This is where the dart actually goes from your hand to the board. The throwing motion should be smooth, controlled, and repeatable. No jerking, no snatching, no muscling the dart at the board.

Your arm does the work, not your body. Your shoulder should stay still. Your elbow acts as a hinge. The motion comes from your forearm accelerating forward and your wrist snapping through at the point of release. That’s it. If your shoulder is moving, you’re involving too much body.

Think of the motion in three phases:

The draw-back. Bring the dart back towards your face in a controlled movement. How far back you draw depends on personal preference—some players barely move the dart back at all, while others bring it close to their cheek or ear. The important thing is that it’s the same distance every time.

The acceleration. Your forearm moves forward, pivoting at the elbow. The motion should accelerate smoothly—don’t try to throw the dart hard. Darts is not about power. The board is only seven feet nine and a quarter inches away. A smooth, consistent acceleration produces far better results than raw force.

The release. Your fingers open and the dart leaves your hand. The release point is critical and largely determines where the dart ends up. Release too early and the dart goes high. Release too late and it dips low. The release should feel natural, like you’re letting the dart go rather than actively throwing it.

A common mistake is gripping the dart too tightly, which delays the release and causes the dart to drop. Another is flicking the wrist too aggressively, which adds unpredictable spin. The wrist should snap through naturally as part of the acceleration, not as a separate, forced movement.

The Follow-Through

The follow-through is arguably the most overlooked part of the throw, yet it’s one of the biggest indicators of good technique. After you release the dart, your arm should continue moving forward and upward, with your fingers pointing towards the target.

Why does it matter if the dart has already left your hand? Because the follow-through is a reflection of what happened during the throw. If it’s consistent—arm extended, fingers pointing at the target, wrist relaxed—it means your throwing motion was smooth and controlled. If it’s all over the place, something went wrong earlier in the chain.

Watch the professionals and you’ll notice their follow-through is almost identical throw after throw. It’s not something they’re actively thinking about; it’s a natural result of a repeatable action. If you focus on a good follow-through, the rest of the throw tends to clean itself up.

Hold that finishing position for a beat before bringing your arm back for the next dart. This “freeze frame” at the end helps reinforce muscle memory and gives you feedback on whether the throw felt right.

Building Consistency

All of the above counts for very little if you can’t do it the same way every time. Consistency is the single most important factor in becoming a better darts player. A technically imperfect throw that you can repeat reliably will always outperform a textbook throw that varies from dart to dart.

Here’s how to build it:

Develop a pre-throw routine. Watch any professional and you’ll see they do the same thing before every throw. It might be a specific number of practice swings, a particular way of positioning the dart in their hand, or a moment of stillness before they draw back. This routine anchors your body and mind, putting you in the same state every time you step to the oche.

Practise with purpose. Mindlessly throwing darts at treble 20 for an hour isn’t practice—it’s just throwing. Set specific targets, track your scores, and work on weaknesses. Games like Bob’s 27 and Around the Clock give your practice sessions structure and purpose.

Don’t change everything at once. If you’re working on your technique, adjust one thing at a time. Change your grip, then give it a few sessions before touching your stance. If you change everything simultaneously, you won’t know which adjustment helped and which didn’t.

Stay still. It sounds simple, but keeping your body still during the throw is one of the hardest things to master. Your head shouldn’t move. Your shoulder shouldn’t dip. Your torso shouldn’t sway. The only thing moving should be your forearm and hand. If you can master this, you’ll eliminate a huge source of inconsistency.

Accept bad days. Every player has sessions where nothing lands. The worst thing you can do is start tinkering with your technique mid-session because a few darts went astray. Trust the process, finish your practice, and come back fresh next time.

Common Mistakes

If you’re struggling with accuracy or consistency, check whether you’re falling into any of these traps:

Gripping too tightly. Tension kills a smooth release. Relax your fingers.

Moving your body. Your head, shoulder, and torso should be stationary. Only your throwing arm moves.

Throwing too hard. Darts is about touch and precision, not power. Slow down and focus on a smooth action.

Inconsistent grip position. If your fingers land in a different spot on the barrel each time, your release will vary. Find a reference point and use it.

Rushing. Take your time between darts. Establish your grip, find your sight line, and throw when you’re ready—not before.

Neglecting follow-through. If your arm stops dead or pulls back immediately after release, work on extending through the throw.

For a deeper look at technique issues and how to fix them, have a read of our guide on common darts mistakes.

Learn From the Pros, Don’t Copy Them

It’s tempting to watch Michael van Gerwen or Luke Littler and try to replicate their throw. But their techniques have been honed over thousands of hours and are built around their specific physical attributes, grip preferences, and barrel choices.

Instead of copying, observe what the professionals have in common. Almost all of them share these traits: a stable, balanced stance; a relaxed grip; a smooth, accelerating throw; and a consistent follow-through. The specifics differ wildly—the fundamentals don’t.

Use professional players as inspiration, not instruction manuals. Take what works for you and leave the rest. The best throw in darts is the one you can repeat.

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• How to Set Up a Dartboard
• Dart Barrel Shapes Explained